ROSICRUCIAN ORDER AMORC ae Supplementary Monograph The subject matter of this monograph must be understood by the reader or student of ame, nat tobe the oficial Roscrcien teachings. These monographs costcae a seis of supplementary studies provided by the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, both to members and nonmembers, because they are not the secret, private teachings of the Order, ‘The object of these supplementary monographs is to broaden the mind of the student by presenting him with the writings, opinions, and dissertations of authorities in various fields ‘of human enterprise and endeavor. Therefore, it is quite probable that the reader will ‘ote at times in these supplementary monographs statements made which are inconsistent with the Rosicrucian teachings or viewpoint. But with the realization that they are mere- Ty supplementary and that the Rosicrucian Organization ic not endorsing oF condoning them, one must fake them merely for their prima facie value. ‘Throughout the. supple mentary series the authors or translators of the subject will be given due credit whenever ‘we have knowledge of their identity. ROSICRUCIAN PARK, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA “Consecrated to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" SPECIAL SUBJECT LECTURE NUMBER NUMBERS RAD 1ve ROSICRUCIAN ORDER, AMORC { -RAD-4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- e Lecture 1 (Supplementary Lecture) Page One NUMBER SYSTEMS AND CORRESPONDENCES Since ancient times, numbers have been used in four basic ways. First, they are the means of judging extension and quantity. Man measures size, number of objects, series, cycles, relationships of time and space, and the like. Scientific laws and principles may be expressed in numerical and mathematical symbols. Second, some mythological and religious symbol- ism is based on numbers; for example, duality or polarity in pairs of gods, and the triad or trinity in many forms. Third, philosophical, metaphysical, and mystical concepts and symbols may be fundamentally numerical in nature. Pythagoras, Plato, and Philo Judaeus used numbers to express metaphysical and mystical principles. Fourth, numerical rela- tionships are basic to the rhythm and harmony of music, the meter or rhythm of verse, and other art forms. Numbers may represent both the order of the universe, or the outer world, and an inner, psychological or psychic order, In the first type above, numbers are used primarily to express the order of the universe. They are predominantly objective, although they have an inner, subconscious element, In the last three types, numbers symbolize primarily an inner, ‘sychic order based on the contents and functions of the subconscious aind, The symbolic relationship thought to exist between series of days, planets, and gods is predominantly an inner, psychic order rather than Objective. This is true of number symbolism in relation to the gods which are symbolic of man's concept of the divine qualities or attributes as in the Egyptian ennead, or group of nine gods. In either case, both elements are present, the objective and subconscious. The difference is in which predominates. Furthermore, one type is just as important and necessary as the other. To look down on either the outer order and its symbols or the inner order and its symbols, is to invite disharmony and unbalance in man's thinking and living. In science and mathematics, numbers are also an expression of man's con- ception of the order of the universe, and they are basically symbols which represent that order. However, they are derived primarily from man's experience of actuality rather than from his own subconscious pro- cesses. In modern thought, numbers are abstractions from objective experience.. In most ancient thought and in mystical symbolism, number is also abstraction from objective experience, but it is an archetypal pat- tern expressed or manifest in the objective world and realized in the minds of human beings. In this case, each number symbol is associated with other corresponding number symbols, so that there is an affinity or association between the Unity representing the Divine or Absolute and the one representing the world or the individual man. There are three basic systems for representing numerals. One, two, or three may be represented by simple strokes, one stroke for the numeral 1, @ivc tor 3, ste. se dn Egyptian hieroglyphs. These may evolve into cursive forms for written language. There may then be special strokes for the tens, hundreds, and thousands. Second, there are systems using the letters of the alphabet for numerals, as in Greek and Hebrew. The letterROSICRUCIAN ORDER, AMORC RAD-4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- Lecture 1 (Supplementary Lecture) Page Two aleph means 1, beth 2, etc., up to 10. The following letters represent the tens, and then the hundreds. These systems make obvious the corre- spondence thought to exist between the letters and the numbers. The Roman system uses letters of the alphabet, but in a different way. I represents 1, II means 2, V means 5, X means 10, etc. At least some of these are derived from the Latin words for the numerals as for instance ¢ from centum or hundred, and M from mille or thousand. Third, the Arabic numerals in use today were derived from the Hindus and the Bactri- ans, an ancient Iranian people, and from the Arabs. It is possible that some are cursive forms of an older system using strokes as the Egyptian system referred to above, while others may be derived from the names of numerals. Certain metaphysical or mystical theories of number deserve to be men- tioned particularly, and they will be discussed in more detail in future discourses. The Pythagorean system dates from the Pythagorean Brother- hood established at Crotona in southern Italy in the sixth century B.C. and from the followers of Pythagoras in later centuries. Pythagoras him- self wrote nothing that has come down to us. What we know of his teach- ings has come from followers such as Nicomachus who wrote an Introduction to Arithmetic, from men who were influenced by Pythagoras such as Plato, and from those like Aristotle who quoted from his followers but who disagreed with their ideas. The Hermetica, or writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, go back at least to the early centuries of the Christian era and contain symbols and concepts based on number, such as the duality of man and the Kosmos, and a triad of God, the Kosmos, and man. The kabala is Jewish mysticism and is the basis of the Sepher Yezirah, the Book of Creation, which is an explanation of the emanation of the ten spheres or sephiroth when the universe was created, and of the series of three, seven, and twelve, and their correspondences in the three realms, the cosmic, the astral, and the human. The Sepher Yezirah is of uncer- tain date. Scholem estimates that it was written between the third and sixth centuries A.D. There are some basic similarities in these three systems, the Pythagorean, the hermetic, and the kabalistic; hence, they are found associated in many later mystical and metaphysical works, and in transcendental alchemy and magic. Rosicrucians such as John Heydon and Robert Fludd in the seventeenth century used them to explain basic mystical principles. They Re eas cee taney consis 81 gurenl| Gari Roseukesurex Sey Seczet oe of the Rosicrucians of the 16th and I7th Centuries. These will scussed in later discourses in this series. Number symbols which are primarily objective are the basis of scientific and mathematical number symbols. Those which are predominantly subcon- scious are the basis of number symbolism in mythology, religion, art, ‘and dreams. A similar distinction may be seen in the Pythagorean idea that God geometrizes, that God created the universe by numbers, and the modern concept of a universe functioning according to mathematical laws. InROSICRUCIAN ORDER, AMORC ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS e Lecture 1 (Supplementary Lecture) Page Three both cosmologies, number is conceived as being the foundation of the Rature and structure of the universe. The Pythagorean is a projection of an inner, subconscious, symbolic order, while the other begins with what man perceives of the outer actuality. The most important factor is man himself, His own sense of and need for order are expressed in number and in concepts and symbols based on number. This is only a different way of putting what was said before, that number is derived from the actual world and from man's subconscious. The two are interrelated, interdependent, and they correspond in the mystical sense, as will be explained later. In a way, these human concepts and symbols are twofold. They are derived from man's perceptions and sensations, from his way of seeing and hearing particularly. They are also derived from the subconscious elements associated with the percep- tions and sensations. For our purposes, nimber may be studied in different kinds of writings. First are works setting forth number theories and symbols, as for instance, Nicomachus' work on Pythagorean theory, Plotinus' section on numbers in his Enneads, and John Heydon's exposition of number symbolism, whether this is consciously done or not. The third is in cosmology and “philosophy as in the work of Plato and Robert Fludd. Fourth, such examples as number symbolism in the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians are a source of information on number symb< ota Used in mystical teachings. Literary and other uses of number symbolism are the final method. This is the basis of much of the symbolism in Dante's Divine Comedy and in Spenser's Fairy Queen, as Fowler has pointed out: Mystically, numbers are an expression of the relationship between unity and multiplicity, and of the order of the multiplicity. Studying concepts of the nature of the unity or the dyad, for example, is an aid in under- standing the nature of the Unity as a representation of the Absolute, and of the duality of man and the universe. Likewise, reversing the process and studying representations of the Absolute, such as that of Plotinus, may elucidate the nature of Unity. Plato in one place speaks of logistic as dealing with numbered objects. We might say it has to do with calculation. Arithmetic as contrasted with this and as dealt with by Nicomachus refers to numbers as such. Plato elsewhere mentions numbers in themselves and corporeal numbers. Logistic, we may conclude, deals with corporeal numbers, arithmetic with numbers in themselves. Following this, when we refer to "the mystical meaning of numbers" or the mystical theory of numbers, we refer to that sense of arithmetic, to the study of numbers as such, rather than to logistic and corporeal numbers. We might call the mystical theory of numbers metaphysical and the other physical. Arithmetic or numbers in themselves correspond to the archetypal pattern, while logistic or cor- poreal numbers is associated with the manifested type. Basic archetypal or cosmic patterns are expressed in many forms in mythology, religion, literature, and art. The archetypal plan or patternRAD-4 C paeane 1 ROSICRUCIAN ORDER, AMORC ANALYTICAL DIS\ (Supplementary CUSSIONS Lecture) Page Four jis manifested in created or mundane types which are realized by man in his awareness of the universe, himself, These symbols, Examples of number symbolism wil and the symbols he creates. however, are influenced by the society and culture in Ghich the individual lives, as well as by his own nature and personality. courses, The dyad, or duality, exists and mundane, the Divine and human, expressed by the concept and symbol of the macrocosm and microcost. great world or the universe, and man as Above, so below" axiom to be discussed 1 be discussed further in later dis- in and is symbolized by the Divine by the universe and man. These are he as ‘the small world; and by the later, referring either to the great and small worlds, or to the Divine and mundane oF human. The dyad may be represented by pairs 0: two pillars as cross, by the sun and moon, or by the king The triad is a are often three as in Robert elemental. These might be called 4i £ gods as the Egyptian Isis and Osiris, by in the eitle page of Bacon's Novum Organum, by the shell and contents of the egg, by the vertica: ontal a: 1 and horizontal arms of the the bride and groom of the spiritual marriage, and queen of alchemical symbolism. common symbol found in m mythology has three furies, three fates three letters to Aum and three vedas wh Suigen spoke of God, Logos, and Holy Spirit. The Secret Symbore of the Rosicrucians uses God, Person, Word; or Roskeructatéther letters in the Hebrew alphabet according to the Sepner Yezirah, aleph, mem, and shin, Triads Vishnu, and Shiva; the Egyptian Isis, 0: rulers of the three rea: or Hades. The four or quaternary is rep: the alchemists, the four directions whi symbolism of temples, the four seasons, There are seven Pleiades, seven planets worlds, seven metals which corresponded week, and seven. double letters in the Hi were the symbolic basis of the Tower of Tepresent the regions of paradise. The: Gods which were yet aspects of the One God, nine muses in Greek mythology, nine spheres in ancient cosmology, nine of Dionysius. There were twelve tribes any forms. The realms of existence ¢ Fludd's empyreal, aevial or ethereal, and divine, astral, and mundane. Greek ; and three gorgons. There are ich correspond to them in Hinduism \ Father, Son, Holy Spirit. There of gods include the Hindu Brahma, siris, and Horus; and the three ‘lus in Greek mythology, Zeus, Neptune, and Pluto resented by the four elements of Plato and ch are sometimes used in the ‘and the four arms of the cross. known to the ancient and medieval to the planets, seven days in the lebrew alphabet. The seven planets Babel, and were used by Dante to re was a group of nine Egyptian ‘orders in the Celestial Hierarchy in the Old Testament, twelve labors of Hercules, and twelve signs of the zodiac. We have spoken of the two pieces of the tal. The latter may be thought of as tl vertical as the active or positive polal third point. The cross has four arms, In the form of ne Gnfolded cube, the cross has six sections, which again with the center point makes seven. The: relationships. They are a projection o cross, the vertical and horizon- he passive or negative and the ity. These meet to form the which with the center makes five. se represent symbolic order and f an inner concept of order.ROSICRUCIAN ORDER AMORC ove Supplementary Monograph The subject matter of this monograph must be understood by the reader or student of same, not to be the official Rosicrucian teachings. These monog oe constitute a series of cupplementary studies provided by the Rosicracian Order, -AMORC, both to members and nonmembers, because they are not the secret, privaie teaching. of the Order, ‘The object of these supplementary monographs is to broaden the mind of the student by presenting him with the writings, opinions, and dissertations of authorities in vartone fol of human enterprise and endeavor. Therefore, it is quite probable that the reader will note at times in these supplementary monographs statements made which are inconsistent with the Rosicrucian teachings or viewpoint, But with the realization that they are mere- Jy supplementary and that the Rosicrucian Organization is not endorsing. oc condoning them, one must take them merely for their prima facie value. Throughout the supple mentary series the authors or transiators of the subject wil be given due credit whenever wwe have knowledge of their identity. ROSICRUCIAN PARK, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, -"Consecrated to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian" SPECIAL SUBJECT LECTURE NUMBERRosicrucian Order, AMORC RAD - 4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- Lecture Two (Supplementary Lecture) Page One NUMBER SYSTEMS AND CORRESPONDENCES In the previous discourse, it was said that mythological and re~ ligious symbols are primarily inner or subconscious. Such literature may be used to aid in understanding the meaning and function of number - symbolism. Subconscious symbols project the inner images and meaning to the objective world or to the form of the symbol. The form of the god or the world is objective, but the symbolic meaning and image at- tached to this form is projected from the inner self to the outer form. In studying number symbolism, therefore, we are concerned with both the symbolism as it is expressed in literature, art, ritual, etc., and with a comparison of this with other types of number symbolism. Egyptian religion is often considered to be polytheistic; yet some texts refer plainly to the One God, or the One One who is sel created and who creates the other gods and men, In Heliopolis, or the city of On, Ra was the sun god, the supreme god. The company of gods were not only his creations but were forms of him. The great company of gods usually contained four pairs created by the great god, but the group was sometimes given in different forms and numbers. The first created pair was Shu, the male, and Tefnut, the female, who represented air and moisture. They were the right and left eyes of Ra, or the sun and moon. Shu and Tefnut are sometimes symbolized by two lions sup- porting and guarding the rising sun. Seb, the male of the second pair, was the god of the earth, while Nut, his female counterpart, was the personification of the sky Osiris was god and judge of the dead, but he was also an aspect of the sun, representing its journey through the other world. His wife Isis was called the great mother, and she may have symbolized the dawn. Set, brother of Osiris and Isis, became the personification of evil, and it was he who killed Osiris. His counterpart and sister was Neph- thys who probably symbolized twilight. She helped Isis to defeat her own husband Set. The company of Ra forms a group of nine or an ennead. Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, defeated the evil Set, and, if we include him, the group becomes ten. We have then the following ennead or decad: Ra shu Tefnut Seb Nut Osiris Isis Set Nephthys HorusRosicrucian Order, AMORC RAD - 4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- Lecture Two (Supplementary Lecture) Page Two I we think of this from the point of view of numbers, one is represented by the One God, the self-created, Ra, or at other times the god.Tem. Since the gods he created are in a sense aspects or at~ tributes of himself, the group also forms a unit. The gods are dual Shu and Tefnut, for instance, forming twin attributes of the Great God. Ra, Shu, and Tefnut, then, form a trinity, as do Osiris, Isis, and Horus, Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys were brothers and sisters, born at once, and they constitute a group of four. With Horus, they make five, and the total company is nine or ten It is aifficult to know how much of this kind of symbolism is recognized by the individuals who create and use it, because it arises in the subconscious mind as dream symbols do, and like the latter, mythological symbols are often taken to be identical with that which they represent. In other words, the symbol and its mean ing are taken to be one. Ra, the symbol, tends both to stand for the sun and to be the sun. ‘The myth may be taken literally instead of symbolically. Nevertheless, the basic symbols and meanings are there whether they are recognized as such or not. Even though religious symbols are primarily subconscious elements projected from the psychic nature of man, part of the symbol is derived from the objective world. Ra represents the sun which is seen to rise and set every day. It gives life to the creatures on earth. Likewise, Ra is the One Source of Life. In the theological system of Memphis, it was Ptah who was the self-created, the creator of gods and men. The heart was thought to be the seat of the mind, and the mind of Ptah was symbolized by the Elder Horus, a different god than Horus the son of Osiris. The god Thoth represented the mouth of Ptah, the creative power of the Word or speech, The company of the gods in this case were said to be the teeth and lips of the creator. Horus was the thought part of the creative process; Thoth was the creative Word, but they were aspects of Ptah who knew the proper words and how to say them, Thus we have another triune god, Ptah, Horus, and Thoth, or Creator, Mind, and Word, The realm through which the sun traveled at night was the other world according to Egyptian belief. This was called Tuat, and one of its regions was the "Field of Reeds" in which Osiris presided. One account tells us that there were seven sections to the Field of Reeds, and at the door to each there were three gods. Other accounts give the number of gates as ten, fifteen, twenty-one, and other numbers. No matter how many there were, the deceased was expected to know their names and those of their guardians. The book Ami Tuat is an account of the twelve hours it takes to journey through the realm by the god representing the sun at night. The Book of Gates gives the twelve gates of the Tuat each of which is guarded by a serpent.Rosicrucian Order, AMORC RAD - 4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- Lecture Two (Supplementary Lecture) Page Three The journey of the sun at night, the journey of the god through the other world, and the mystical journey of the initiate all cor- respond; they are interrelated symbols, each of which represents the other. The temporal and spatial numerical measurements, the order of the cosmological phenomena, and the steps in the attainment of the mystic are different series in the great chain of being. The symbolic numbers in one apply also to the other series. In the two theological systems given above, the dyad, or two, is stronger than the triad. The polarity represented by the mascu- line and feminine twins predominates. So too the group of eight is more important apparently than the ennead or nine. In both systems the triad or the ennead is a unity of which the multiplicity is an extension or emanation. The triad, for instance, of Ptah, Horus, and Thoth is a means of expressing the important attributes of the One God. The other world is the place through which the sun travels at night, and it may be measured either by time intervals derived from the motion of the sun, planets, moon, or zodiac, or by spatial measurements. However, in this case, spatial measurements correspond to and are derived from the temporal and cosmological phenomena. Again there is a correspondence and a mutual relationship of the symbols. It may also be that numbers such as 14, 15, and 21 are based on time, planetary, or zodiacal number symbolism. The symbolism of the number three is evident in Hinduism in several ways. The trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as creator, preserver, and destroyer is well known, Another interesting example is that associated with the sacred word Aum and its letters. Aum represents Brahma as the Highest Reality, and meditation on the word, or its other form Om, is a means of achieving mystical attunement. The corresponding series of three Vedas are associated with the letters A, U, M, The Rig Veda has a fixed arrangement, the Sama Veda does not have, and the Yajur Veda contains prose as well as verse. This threefold arrangement omits the Atharva Veda which is a special class. The Hindus also classify three states of consciousness, waking, the dream state, and deep sleep, as well as three realms, earth, intermediate space, and heaven. Other triads include speech, mind, and vital breath; the known, the to be known, and the unknown. We might put this in a table as follows: A u M Rig Veda Yajur veda Sama Veda Earth Intermediate Heaven spaceRosicrucian Order, AMORC RAD - 4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- Lecture Two (Supplementary Lecture) Page Four A v M Waking Dream state Deep sleep Speech Mind Vital breath Known To be known Unknown Symbolism in religion and mythology is often a way of represent- ‘ing the One and the many and the relation between them. We have seen this in Egyptian mythology in the One God and the lesser gods which are his attributes. The emphasis may be on the One or Unity; it may be on the many, or a harmony of the two views may be attained. God and man are an obvious duality in mythology and religion, but these may be expressed in many ways. Concepts of God may be based on animism or personification, attributing consciousness or personal characteristics to deity or deities as well as natural objects. The Divine may also be represented as abstract and impersonal, In any case the Divine and mundane, the Cosmic and human are a duality, even though the mystic may conceive of actuality as one whole. In the Upanishads the concept of Brahman as the Ultimate and Highest Reality represents that with which the mystic is to be made one. It is the transcendent as opposed to the immanent. This may also be put in terms of the individual self and the Ultimate or Universal Self, whict. are expressed by the word atman meaning self and Atman meaning the greater Universal Self, which is Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, or in English, self and Self. One or Unity is the Universal Self or Ulti- mate Reality, while the lesser unity is the individual self. Ages or cycles are methods of measuring and putting order into time and events. In Indian thought there are four yugas or ages which constitute a Mahayuga or Great cycle. Each yuga contains a baginning period or dawn, the main era, and a twilight period. The first yuga is 4,000 years with a dawn and twilight of 400. The second has 3,000 and 300 year periods, the third yuga 2,000 and 200 year periods, and the final one 1,000 and 100 years. The Mahayuga has a duration of 12,000 years. The shorter the yuga, the more evil it is. The con- ception is not one of progress but of decline. The universe is created, runs down as it were, is destroyed, and then recreated. Each cycle is a progressive dissolution or devolution symbolized by the shorter periods. In this case, then, the series from 4 to 1 does not symbolize the return to unity or the original state (although it does that too) so much as it does the gradual but inevitable devolu- tion. The way out, of course, is spiritual or psychic evolution and ultimately mystical union. There are figures or objects as well as deities which are based on the triad or the tetrad. The trident is associated with both Neptune, the Greek god, and Shiva of the Hindu trinity. The symbol is found in many places and forms, and it is similar to the oriental vajra, a pronged figure, instrument, or scepter. The vajra, however, is not limited to three prongs but may have more or less, The trident is a union of three, while the vajra is a union of two or more.Rosicrucian Order, AMORC RAD - 4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- Lecture Two (supplementary Lecture) Page Five the swastika or gammadion is even more widespread and is a very ancient symbol. It is found in different forms and is often associ- ated with other symbols on tombs, coins, clothing, and on many other Gbjects. The ends may be straight or hooked; they occasionally end in circles and may be turned in either direction. While four arms is the §susl form, the symbol may have three or five. Often associated with circles representing the sun, or with other solar symbols, it was probably, at least in origin, a solar symbol itself. The four arms may have represented the four directions or points of the horizon, or four positions of the sun as it apparently moved around the earth, rising, setting, noon, and midnight. The swastika thus is a union of four. The idea of the great world, or macrocosm, and the small world, or microcosm, the universe and man, and their correspondence is set orth in various terms in mythological, religious, and philosophical works. One of the-clearest statements of the doctrine of correspond- ences is in John Heydon's Holy Guide published in the seventeenth century. He says that whicl 's inferior or below is as that which is Superior or above, there being one universal matter and form of all things, differenced only by accidents and particularly by that great mystery of rarefaction and condensation, the inferior and superior, to Work and accomplish the miracle of one thing, and to show the great va~ riety and diversity of operations wrought by that spirit that works all things, in all things This is an amplification of the Emerald Tablet attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, which we shall discuss later. That which is above refers to the macrocosm and the universe. That which is below efers to man and the mundane. The terms may also be said to refer to the divine and mundane planes, that is, to God and the universe, or to God and man. one of the hermetic excerpts says, "Inasmuch as heaven with its many circles . . . is placed above all the world of things below . » « 5 tt gust be that all the world which lies below has been set in order gna filled with contents by the things which are placed above; for the things below have not-power to set in order the world above. The weaker mysteries then must yield to the stronger; and the system of things on high is stronger than the things below, and is wnolly stead- fast, and cannot be apprehended by the thoughts of mortal men." The Gnostic Gospel According to Thomas refers to the correspond- ence between the Inner and outer as well as between the above and the below. In a Tuamotuan myth the Creator tells the creature whom he has created that he is the first and last, the above and below. Indian and Chinese legends compare the elements of the first man to the heavens, the wind, the moon, etc. William Blake said: What is above is Within, for every-thing in Eternity is translucent: he Circumference is Within, Without is formed the Selfish Center.Rosicrucian Order, AMORC RAD - 4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- : Lecture Two (Supplementary Lecture) Page Six >) Finally, Ulysses' speech from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida re~ garding degrees is based on the correspondence between the universe and man. In the doctrine of correspondence, there is, to begin with, the basic concept that what is above is like that which is below. There are also what might be called corollaries to this idea. The first Gorollary is that the degrees in the hierarchy of creation, or the rungs on the symbolic ladder, form corresponding series. One Section of the ladder, so to speak, corresponds to another. Second fs the doctrine of signatures which says that, if these correspond, they have certain outward signs, signatures, characters, letters, or hieroglyphs which indicate their similarity and which are derived from cheir inherent natures. The third corollary applies the original above and below to other categories, the mundane and Cosmic, man and the ‘universe, the macrocosm and microcosm, the inner and outer selves. Positive and negative polarities in different series correspond, Fourth, the doctrine includes the mystical ascent or union with God as an integral part. It too corresponds to the general hierarchy; hence, the ladder is used to symbolize mystical union, Associated with the correspondences is the concept of the archetypal or cosmic pattern and the type or mundane manifestation hich 1s an expression of the archetype. The archetypes are cosmic, psychic, and subconscious, while the types are mundane, physical, and objective. It is important also to note some of the symbols which express these basic ideas. The heavenly city, the sacred temple, and the sacred garden are symbols of the correspondence between the mundane and cosmic or material and spiritual planes as are the kabalistic dam Kacmon or the cosmic man and the symbol of the golem, or being, created by man. In the symbol of the archetypal man, the ten spheres which represent the attributes of God are related to the man. In the tree symbol, which is also used in the kabala, the relationship is between the Divine and the mundane, between God and the Universe. The worlds or realms correspond, as when the Hermetica says that the Kosmos was made in the image of God, and man in the image of the Kosmos. The creative Word, or Logos, is the archetype of the human word, and these are symbols of the relationship between the Divine and human.RAD - 4 Lecture Two Bibliography: Book of the Dead Book of the Dead Budge, E. A. Wallis Goblet d'Alviella Long, Charles H. e (Bimmer, Heinrich Upanishads RAD-4 472 Rosicrucian Order, AMORC ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS -B- (Supplementary Lecture) Page Seven Translated by E. A. Wallis Budge. London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1949. translated by E. A. Wallis Budge. Univer- sity Books, 1960. From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt. Seford University Press, 1934. Scarce. ‘The Migration of Symbols. University Books, Tose. Gospel According to Thomas, translated by R Setllaumond and others. Harper, 1959. Alpha, The Myths of Creation. Braziller, ieee Tai myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civi- jet cn, “Bollingen Series. Pantheon — Books, 1946. translations are available by Nikhilananda, Radhakrishnan, and others.ROSICRUCIAN ORDER AMORC ove Supplementary Monograph ‘The subject matter of this monograph must be understood ‘by the reader or student af same, not tobe the ficial Rosicrucian teachings. These monographs constitute a seret of supplementary studies provided by the Rosicrucian Order,.AMORC, both to members and nonmembers, because they are not the secret, private teachings of the Order. ‘The object of these supplementary monographs is to broaden the mind of the student by presenting him with the writings, opinions, and dissertations of authorities in various fields Of human enterprise and endeavor. Therefore, it is quite probable that the reader will note at times in these supplementary monographs statements made which are inconsistent with the Rosicrucian teachings or viewpoint. But with the realization that they are mere- ly supplementary and that the Rosicrucian Organization is not endorsing or condoning them, one must take them merely for their prima facie value. Throughout the supple- mentary series the authors or translators of the subject will be given due credit whenever the we have knowledge of their identity. ROSICRUCIAN PARK, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA “Consecrated to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian” SPECIAL SUBJECT LECTURE NUMBER NUMBERSRosicrucian Order, AMORC RAD-4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION ow _ lecture 3 (Supplementary Lecture) Page One e NUMBER SYSTEMS AND CORRESPONDENCES Pythagoras wrote no works that have come down to us; hence, we know Pythagorean theory and symbolism from three sources. First, the writings of his followers, such as Nicomachus' Introduction to Arithmetic, give the system in a form closest to the original taught in the Pythagorean Brotherhood, Second, Pythagorean ideas are found in the works of men such as Plato who was greatly influenced by followers of Pythagoras but who modified those concepts according to his own understanding. Finally, some understanding of the theories may be gained from writers like Aris- totle who quote or summarize Pythagorean thought but who disagree with them, Pythagoras was born in 572 B.C., but the biography of him by Diogenes Laertius was not written until the third century A.D. lIamblichus' life of Pythagoras was written about A.D. 300; therefore, much of the life of Pythagoras is unknown or legendary. The knowledge which he passed on to his followers came at least partly from the Egyptians and Babylonians, whether or not his travels to those countries were factual. He was also influenced by the Greek Orphics. (Neugebauer has shown that the Babylonians, for example, knew of the right angle triangle with which the Pythagorean theorem is concerned. Number theory was fundamental to the teachings of the Pythagorean Brother- hood at Crotona. According to their ideas, number is the essence of the created universe. Number is Being. The cosmos was created and ordered according to the divine, ideal plan or pattern. Number is basic to the nature of the divine pattern and its manifestation in the actual world. Because it is the basis of creation, it is also the fundamental nature of the law of correspondences. Number, creation, cosmology, and music are all related. The monad or unit is the” first principle of all things and is the begin- ning of number. The divine plane or the One, and the human, worldly Plane or the many are interrelated. The One becomes the many; the many are united again with the One. This is symbolized by the tetractys, which says that 1+ 2+ 3+ 4 = 10, and the ten returns to the unit. In future discourses, we will see various applications of this concept. This relationship between Unity and multiplicity is paralleled by the fall from the cosmic world of light into darkness, and by the ideal and the material realms. To the mystic, the cycle includes the reunion with the cosmic, divine realm. The monad is the beginning; from it comes the dyad or two which corre- sponds to matter and to the undetermined. Numbers are derived from the dyad. In the series of numbers, each arises from its predecessor. In gqethe series of point, line, plane figure, and sensible body also, each is rived from the preceding one, Sensible bodies are made up of the four ements, fire, air, water, and earth, which constitute the universe which is an organism,Rosicrucian Order, AMORC RAD-4 ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION Lecture 3 (Supplementary Lecture) Page Two one is not a number but the origin of number. Two differs from it by one unit; it is therefore regarded as other, and the term other is used pro- perly only of the two. The one is then represented as the same in con- trast to the two or other. Number may be regarded as even and odd, two being the first even number, three the first odd one. Odd numbers were considered as masculine, even as feminine, or to put this in terms of polarity, the odd are positive and the even negative. The monad is both even and odd because when added to numbers it makes odd numbers even and vice ver: ‘The monad and dyad symbolize the ordered and disordered, the definite and indefinite, or what is usually called the limited and unlimited. The duality of limited and unlimited is the basis of a series of ten pairs or opposites: Limited Unlimited oad Even Unity Plurality or multiplicity Right Left Male Female Resting Moving Straight Crooked Light Darkness Good Evil or bad e@ Square Oblong These are different expressions of the two basic principles from ‘which all things originate and which are in all things. In Pythagorean thought, the unit or one corresponds to the point, and oes not have interval or dimension. Two is related to the line; three to the triangle which has three points, sides, or angles, In this series, four corresponds to the pyramid having a triangular base, because it has four points. The point becomes a line, the line a square, and the square a cube, which gives another series in which the first solid is the cube. There are, therefore, the following correspondence: 1 Point ~ Point Point 2. Line Line Line : 3 Plane figure Triangle Square 4 Sensible bodies Pyramid with Cube triangular base Numbers were represented by the Greeks by letters of the alphabet or by a series of points or alphas, the first letter of the alphabet, which re~ presents one. Thus, one point or alpha represented one, two meant two, etc, The monad is the beginning of number, while the first interval is two, The triangle is the most elementary plane figure represented by: